Learning Experiences

Posted on 16 Apr 2014 @ 12:48pm by Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Commander Norvi Stace
Edited on on 16 Apr 2014 @ 3:41pm

2,014 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo Deck 7 - Arboretum
Timeline: MD -4 :: 1738 Hrs

[ON]

The arboretum was not the first choice in 'relaxation spots,' but Asahi was going to have to make do. However, the past few days had proven to be more than a little trying for the engineer. Preparing for the mission seemed to be the easy part. Gathering all the materials for his team to digest and turn into usable information was the easy part.

What had become difficult was disengaging from his work. Countless hours had been spent pouring his heart out into the files and readings involving every topic he could involving not just the mines, but the equipment and everything else around it. If they were going to team up with as many people as they could and create cohesive hypotheses from the information, it would have probably benefited him the most to learn as much as he could. Even if he wasn't going to send himself down there, taking an inactive backseat would have set a bad example. There was already enough friction amongst his engineers as it was. He wasn't going to slack off and give them more of an excuse to nag at him.

However, it was one of the more motherly engineers who had popped her head in and demanded he take a break. Protests seemed about as futile against the woman as resisting Borg, which resulted in Asahi having to remove himself from the engineering office and take a stroll through the arboretum. At least it wasn't too far off, and maybe he'd manage to find someone to talk to while he was walking about. He absolutely hated being alone with his thoughts these days.

Norvi's ponytail fell down the side of her neck as she leant on bended knees on the grass. Since happening upon Dr. Coleman tinkering with the flowers and mud the day before, the Trill felt drawn to the arboretum. The plants, the wildlife, the science. But mostly the peace. She could forget that she was in space here. Forget the vacuum of nothingness surrounding the tiny tin can than housed all of this.

She heard the door go behind her and whipped her head around, looking to see who had entered. "Ah, Lieutenant!" She stood and, as Colemen did before her, wiped her soiled hands on her uniform. "How are you?" She placed one hand on her hip, and with the back of the other wiped a smear onto her forehead.

It was possible Asahi should have expected someone else in the arboretum, possibly because it was a relatively public location that nearly anyone could access. But there was a hint of surprise in his expression that would have told the Trill otherwise. "... Good afternoon, Lieutenant..." His lips curled into a small smile as his brain finally caught up with the rest of him. "It's been a pretty busy day. There's a section on Deck 4 that's having an issue with their replicators, but it's nothing too serious. Just troublesome... What about yourself? Busy day in the arboretum, or are you escaping the bustle too?"

"A little of both, Lieutenant" she replied honestly. "It's nice to get out of the labs sometimes, and this is the most peaceful place on the ship. It's just lucky that I also get to work in it as well." She paused for a beat and then smiled.

His cheeks flushed at a sudden realization. "You can call me Asahi, by the way. On duty or not, it's a little weird when it's a more one-on-one setting..."

"Well," she said, now standing up fully, "since we're equal in rank I'll allow that!" She smiled at her jest, successfully hiding the fact that she wasn't accustomed to such informalities. At least her previous host wasn't. But then she quickly realised that she was no longer captain of a Galaxy but a scientist. And, she would protest, a nicer person all round. "Norvi." She outstretched her hand and took his in a shake. "Nice to meet you."

Asahi's smile widened as they exchanged handshakes. He had been so deep in his own department that meeting those outside of it had become a relief. "Norvi. I'll remember that." Or, he hoped he would have. There were quite a few Trills on the Galileo, each of them vastly different than the next. All he knew was that they were different than humans. Most races were, but he had so little to go on sometimes. "I... don't mean to be rude, but is Norvi a host name or a ahm..." His cheeks began to darken another shade as he let his sentence dribble off.

"Not familiar with Trill customs, eh?" she said, cocking her head to one side and smiling. "Why don't you join me for a break in the mess and I can help clear the differences for you?"

Asahi would have protested that he was on duty, but he had a sneaking suspicion he would have been sent out of his own office again. But, maybe the petty officer who had told him off was right; he needed a break. Nodding in Norvi's direction, he smiled. "I'd like that."

MESS HALL

Norvi sat opposite, a steaming cup of coffee sat before her. Hopefully now both relaxed, she looked at Asahi with warm eyes. "Norvi is MY name. The name that my parents gave me and the name that - regardless of my joined status - will never change. I was born Norvi Perim, but once a host is joined to the Symbiont, it replaces the family name. And so I became Norvi Stace, the Stace Symbiont's fifth host. Make sense up to now?"

Asahi spent most of the explanation nodding his head and sipping at his own beverage, which he would have called coffee. Many would have called the mostly creamer and sugar concoction lacking in the caffeinated beverage, but the engineer had a distaste for coffee on it's own.

His motions paused only to process the Trill's words. "... Yeah, sorda... It's almost like the marriage tradition we have on Earth. Someone takes someone else's familial name, assuming that they'd both stay together till 'death do us part.' Except you're not really married... you're... joined." He seemed perfectly satisfied with his own explanation. After a small sip of coffee, however, his mind had changed almost immediately. "... I'm sorry, you're the first Trill I've ever been able to talk to about customs and traditions. Usually all I get is what I read in a book, or what I've been able to gather from someone after I've grossly offended them by opening my mouth. I think you're the first one I've met who hasn't threatened to stuff a spanner down my throat."

"That's," she hesitated and smiled warmly, "not really my style, if I'm honest," Stace chuckled, taking a sip of her own acrid brew. "I wouldn't call us an aggressive race either, but with history and experience comes a little arrogance. And I can see why some people are threatened by someone with as many lives' experiences as myself. We can sometime act pious and aloof but that's not intentional. I myself, since having died four times, live on the lighter side of life. Starfleet merely offers me the chance to explore the unknown, something I find deliciously attractive." She paused for a moment and then locked eyes with the ensign. "I'm really an open book so you're free to ask anything you like."

"I didn't really think they were all that aggressive either..." Asahi's shoulders sunk as he thought back on the few interactions he had experienced with other Trill. "... But I guess I have this skill where I find all the right buttons. Or the wrong ones, I suppose." He shrugged, brightening up at Norvi's words. He wiggled forward in his seat, as if the permission he had just been granted gave him life. Worn out as he may have been, the prospect of learning about another culture without the fear of invoking anger was all too lucrative to the engineer. "That's all too reassuring, you may regret that later on."

His father always said he would have made a good scientist, simply from his inquisitive nature. "But I wouldn't know where to start. There are just so many questions I could ask that I haven't already read from a database. Did you say four times? That would make this your fifth lifetime, correct? There must be a lot of stories that come from all those years of living."

"Too many," Stace recounted, "and spread over many years." But she smiled at the question. "Sometimes I can barely keep track over whose are whose. Just like sometimes you can't remember whether something happened in your childhood or in a dream you once had..." She paused and then looked Asahi fully. "But they're all experiences that make me me."

Asahi rested his chin on his hands, elbows on the table, as he listened contently. If he wiggled any closer in his seat, he would have fallen off, and that would have been most embarrassing for the tiny engineer. "Huh. I wouldn't mind hearing about some of them. There's a lot to learn about a culture simply from one person's experience... that's what circus life's taught me." He frowned. "... Then again, I've been told my view on Klingons is a little skewed..."

"Circus?" Stace questioned, intrigued herself. "I don't think I've heard of such a thing." She paused and narrowed her gaze onto him. "You're quite a character yourself, aren't you?"

Asahi blinked, eyes widening. He had always forgotten circuses weren't common outside of Earth. Even on Earth, he hadn't seen very many like the Sumi. "The circus is my home... or it was, before Starfleet. I should have dragged you on the trip with everyone else. There really isn't a good way to describe it." He frowned, tapping his chin. "Maybe I can get them to record a show? Or... I bet I could program the holodeck."

He had buried himself deep in the idea of showing Norvi the circus, that Asahi almost forgot he was still talking to her. "If you'd like me to, I mean. Circuses are a rarity, even on Earth."

Stace's face smiled in a bemused, softened expression. "That sounds like fun, but..." She paused and furrowed her brow a little. "...I'm still not entirely sure what a 'circus' is. Are they fun? And what does one do in a circus?" Sha paused again. "What did you do?"

At this, Asahi opened his mouth, jolting upright in his seat, ready to give a full-length, extremely detailed explanation of what the circus was. There was a brief pause, before he slumped down in his seat. "... I'm not entirely sure where to start with that. I never really did much. Managed to help greet all of our special guests when I was too young to do anything else, but when I was older, I was a trapeze artist. Apparently, I was the only one tiny enough." He frowned. "The only way to tell you is to show you. I'm going to have to insist you join me in the holodeck at some point... but uhm... maybe after the shift ends?"

Stace pulled the corners of her mouth downwards whilst smiling, nodding as he spoke. "It's a date. Just give a time and I'll meet you at the holodeck. This sounds like it could be rather fun."

"Hm... how about 0100? It'll give me enough time to get myself out of this old uniform..." Asahi rubbed the back of his neck. "Or at least freshen up a bit."

Stace smiled widely. "It's a holodeck date," she grinned, flashing her teeth. "Do I need to change into anything specific?"

"Hm? Oh no, nothing too fancy. Something nice and comfy, especially if you plan on getting yourself involved. But, that's up to you."

"Good. I'm sure that I'll find something."

OFF:

LT. Asahi Kita
[Acting] Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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